Falling in love...

It's been a week since I'm here and I like it more and more.

In the weekend we decided to visit Gdansk so we contacted Bagdan to tell him we plan to pay him a visit. A proactive person like him, learning about our welcome party on Friday evening, decided to get the train and come to Olsztyn for the party.

So on Friday evening all of us went clubbin'. After long researches, we finally found a club where we could enter - no club cards or special outfit requiered. It's not a fabulous club but it's ok. I prefere Twice in Bucharest though. Twice it's also cheaper. Here we had to pay 5 zl for the entrance, 1 zl for the wardrobe and 0,5 zl for the toilette. Strange but true.

We got home at 4 am, got up at 6 am to catch the bus to Gdansk and continued our sleep on the bus. We arrives in Gdansk with a 1 h and a half delay because of the rod under construction.

We started our sightseeing with some shopping. Nice start I'd say as I bought a swimming costum from the first shop I entered. It's pink and it has a buterrfly on it:))

We visited the old town with the golden gate, the old city hall, the St. Mary church and many others. After a few hours in Gdansk I felt my mind all free of worries and stress... I felt like singing and jumping but the peace and relax was stopping me to do that. Narrow streets with old buildings, all having lots of colored flowers at their windows and balconies, little street shops with silver and amber jewells, nice teraces serving fish dishes and cold beer.

In the evening we left for Sopot and his beautiful beaches as Bogdan said. We took a walk on the beach, watched the see from a dock, felt the soft sand on our feet and promissed to come back the next day.

So on Sunday morning we were in Sopot, looking for a terrace to eat "lunch-breakfast": cabbage soup, a sort of "sarmale" - rolled cabbage leaf with meat and rice and patotoes. The sandy beach was waiting for us. Our feet were just sinking in the thick coat of sand. The water is like 20 degrees I think so we had our bath in the Baltic sea. The sun is not burning so badly as in Mamaia and the breeze is not so strong. A wonderful weekend in a wonderful scenary.

For me, Gdansk and Sopot are now simply the best. Paris, Vienna, Venice, Budapest, Bucharest please don't get mad at me...

Cateva puncte / Some outlines

+ Sunt bine

Am racit de la aerul cond din avion si inca mai trag de nas si tusesc dar pare sa fie pe sfarsite. In prima zi dupa ce am ajuns m-am taiat la un deget incercand sa tai plasticul in care era niste salam pe care l-am cumparat. M-am taiat la degetul mare de la stanga si nu am realizat atunci cat e de adanc. Am pus degetul sub apa rece si am rugat-o pe Andreea sa-mi aduca niste tifon pe care-l luasem de acasa. Am tinut presat vreo 15 minute si nu se oprea din sangerare. Atunci am vazut ca e f adanc asa ca am taiat si niste finet si am improvizat un bandaj pe care l-am legat foarte strans. De dimineata era iar plin de sange.

Am luat atatea medicamente de acasa dar nici macar o compresa sterila si niste apa oxigenataL. Ne-am adus aminte ca la serviciu aflasem ca mama unei colege e doctorita asa ca am zis sa plecam mai devreme la serviciu si sa-i rugam sa ne ajute. Au fost foarte draguti si imediat au scos cutia de prim ajutor, una din tipe m-a ajutat si mi-a turnat apa oxigenata sa dezlipesc pansamentul, mi-a spalat rana cu betadine si mi-au pus un plasture foarte bun.
Asta e povestea cu sunt bine J. Am fost calma si e in ordine, nu mai curge nimic si urmeaza sa se inchida asa ca puteti sta linistiti ca nu mai e nici o problema.

I’m fine

I caught a cold on the airplane because of the air-conditionning and I’m still coughing but it seems to end soon, hopefully. In my first day after I got here I cut one of my fingers, trying to open a plastic bag of salamy. I didn’t notice how deep is the cut just until I realized I was pressing a bandage against the finger for 15 minutes and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. We had no oxigenate water or other stuff for wounds so we improvised a bandage to stop the bleeding. The owners were not answerring the door and the other girl hosted in the same house told us there’s no pharmacy nearby and that at that hour all of them are closed.
In the morning the bandage was full of blood again so we went at work earlier, knowing that one of our collegue’s mother is a doctor. Once they saw me with my finger all bloody they got out the first aid box and helped me clean my wound and bandage it so it’s all ok now, thanks God!

+ In casa roz

Acasa e foarte mare liniste. Plecam dimineata devreme si ne intoarcem seara tarziu asa ca linistea este excat la locul ei. Avem baia, bucataria si camera masinii de spalat la comun cu celelalte doua fete care stau acolo cu chirie. In aceeasi casa dar la etaj stau si proprietarii pe care nu i-am prea vazut. Avem voie sa facem dus doar pana la 23 dar celelalte fete fac si dupa si oricum nu se aude nimic, nu inteleg de unde regula asta stupida. Avem voie sa folosim masina de spalat o data pe luna. O sa vedem cum facem cu asta. Daca nu ne descurcam, putem merge la Magda, presedinta din AIESEC care are si ea masina de spalat.
V-am spus deja ca stam intr-o casa roz cu multe flori si ca e intr-un cartier numai cu vile noi si f frumoase, nu?

Living in the pink house

It’s very quiet at home. We leave at work in the morning and get back home late in the evening usually so the silence is welcome home. We have the bathroom, kitchen and washing machine room common for the other people living there. The owners live in the same house but at the top floor and we don’t get to see them very often. We’re allowed to take shower just until 11 pm but all the other girls hosted there make a lot of noise in the kitchen or outside the house till late after 11 pm so I guess this rule is useless. And not to forget that we’re allowed to use the washing machine just once a month. We’ll see how we’ll manage this one.I already mentioned we live in a pink house with lots of flowers, in a marvelouse neighbourhood with big new houses, right?

+ La serviciu

Fundatia in care lucram e implicata intr-un proiect al UE, numit INTERREG III B. E un proiect mare, destinat tarilor Marii Baltice. In cadrul proiectului mare, este dezvoltat unul mai mic, numit SEBco. Ideea e ca astia au semnat contracte de participare dar nu prea stiau exact despre ce e vorba. Stiau doar ideea mare dar nu si ce presupune proiectul, ce trebuie exact sa faci. Asa ca dupa ce am citit materialele de la ei, care nu spuneai decat chestii juridice intre partile contractuale si nimic mai mult, m-am apucat sa caut pe net si am scos materiale despre proiectul mare intai si apoi despre cel mic. E ciudat ca peste tot e plin de vorbe frumoase dar nimic concret de facut. Ideea e ca se cheltuiesc niste bani pentru conferinte in care fiecare isi prezinta regiunea si altele dar nu fac altceva. Despre regiuni pot citi si pe net.
Dupa ce am citit toate materialele m-am gandit la ceva palpabil si util care ar putea fi parte din proiect asa ca am facut o schema de lucru si le-am propus-o. Inca nu am primit raspunsul final, ei fiind insa destul de incantati de idee.
Avem multe discutii despre cum e in Romania si cum e aici. Despre UE si cum influenteaza intrarea in UE. In Polonia s-au schimbat multe dupa ce au intrat si ei sunt chiar fericiti ca sunt in UE. Isi reconstruiesc drumuri, au renovat toate blocurile vechi, comuniste din oras, au construit niste cartiere cu blocuri noi si moderne, au fonduri pentru cladirile care necesita restaurari si pentru monumente. Zona asta e una din cele mai sarace 5 zone din UE asa ca ei trebuie sa gaseasca solutii pentru atragerea de mari corporatii care nu prea sunt acum. E decat o fabrica Michelin, una Tymbark (fac sucuri naturale) si inca una mi se pare. In rest IMMuri care nu au foarte mare succes. E o zona cu potential turistic enorm datorita lacurilor dar hotelurile sunt goale. Ei spun ca e din cauza drumurilor. Eu cred ca e datorita faptului cu acorda atentie si nu investesc in turism si promovarea zonei.

At work

The foundation where we work is called “Foundation "upport and Promotion of Enterprise in Warmia and Mazury". They are involved in EU project called INTERREG III B. It’s a big project designed for the Baltic Sea Region Countries. On the frame of this project there many other small scale projects. One of them is SEBco, the one in which this foundation is involved. The fact is that the responsibles for the project signed the papers for the the involvment in the project having almost no idea about the project objectives and all. So after reading the legal papers, we started surfing on the net, looking for materials about what’s this project supposed to do.

It’s funny that all I found where just nice words but no specific things you have to accomplish. So the project objective is to go in some conferences and present your region, spend the money and prepare financial reports.So, after reading all those materials, I thought about something usefull to spend money on, inside this project. I prepared a scheme of the project and I presented it as a proposal. They liked the idea but they thing it’s to much work to do to put it in practice.We have many discussions regarding Romania and Poland, about EU and it influenced Poland after joining. They are very happy about the EU changes. Many roads are being rebuilt, the blocks of flats where renovated, some new neighbourhoods where built, almost all the old buildings will be repainted.

They have a lot of money to spend on the improvement of the infrastructure. This is one of the 5 poorest regions in EU so their solution is to attract big corporations in the area. They have just a Michline tyres factory, a Tymbark juice factory and some other SMEs. It’s high potential area for tourism because of all the lakes but all the hotels around here are empty. They say it’s because of the low quality of the roads. I say it’s because they invets nothing in promoting the area and don’t attract tourists in any way.

+ AIESEC

RECEPTION in OLSZTYN RULESSSS!!!!

Pana acum am cunoscut 4 fete din localul de aici, care sunt unele din putinii care mai sunt in oras. Pana acum au facut cu randul sa ne plimbe in functie de programul pe care il au la serviciu. Sunt foarte dragute si disponibile. Astazi ne-au invitat la un « barbecue » la Language School iar maine iesim intr-un club pentru ca ne organizeaza Welcome party.
Andreea si cu mine ne-am hotarat sa mergem in weekend la Gdansk sa vizitam. Am vorbit si cu Kamil, tipul pe care l-am cunscut asta vara la Moeciu si e foarte fericit ca merg sa-l vad. Bogdan, care e in traineeship acolo e de asemenea fericit ca a zis ca l-au lasat cam singur cei din AIESEC Gdansk si ca macar asa se va plimba si el cu noi.

+ AIESEC

RECEPTION in OLSZTYN RULESSSS!!!!

Up until now we’ve met just 4 girls from the LC. They are the little few that stay in the city for the summer. They tryied to meet us everyday, take us to see the city, the campus, the lake and so on, depending on their working hours. They invited us for a barbecue party in the Language School and tomorrow we’ll go out out for our welcome party.

Dupa prima zi / After my first day here

Pentru cei care stiti romana, cititi versiunea in romana... Aici departe de casa stiu sa-mi exprim mai sincer parca trairile in romana. E ciudat ca aici simt ca in engleza nu sunt decat traduse, pentru ca atunci cand simt, simt romaneste. Asa ca o sa incerc sa si traduc mai jos pentru cei care nu cunosc al nostru "grai mioritic".

Sunt deja de 2 zile in Olsztyn si pot sa scriu primele impresii, "la cald", inainte sa incep sa gasesc toate explicatiile si detaliile. De fapt ce e mai jos a fost scris ca un mail pentru ai mei parinti, a doua zi dupa ce am ajuns asa ca e foarte la cald.

Am ajuns bine dupa ce am asteptat bagajele juma de ora in aeroport, i-au pierdut bagajul unei fete (m-am descurcat sa-l gasesc:)), am luat trenul, care a facut un accident pe drum si a avut o intarziere de o ora.

Ne-au asteptat in aeroport si si la gara si tipa din Olsztyn a venit cu tatal ei si ne-a luat cu masina pana la casa unde stam. Este o casa cu gradina, o vila as putea spune. Si ce credeti voi? E roz:)) Au multe flori in gradina dar si niste ceapa si morcovi.

Fetele ne-au asteptat cu mici cadouri, ne cumparasera paine, pateu, zahar si alte chestii care se gandeau ca ne-ar trebui macar pentru seara aia.

De dimineata am mers la serviciu unde ne-a intampinat directoarea: o tipa la 50 si ceva de ani care nu vb f bine engleza dar e tare draguta si pare genul de femeie foarte hotarata. Restul sunt toti tineri asa ca stiu engleza si le-a facut mare placere sa stea la taclale cu noi. Ne-au dat cafea, ceai, ne-au dus sa mancam, ne-au luat cu ei in oras sa plateasca niste chestii la banca si ne-au plimbat. La intoarcere vroiam sa facem si noi ceva util si ne-au zis ca nu e cazul, ca e prima zi si trebuie sa nu ne stresam de acum.

Sunt foarte caldurosi si cei de la serviciu si cei din AIESEC dar nu pot spune acelasi lucru despre toti. In tren daca intrebam "Sorry! Do you speak English?", raspundeau ca nu si intorceau repede capul sa fie siguri ca nu mai deranjez. Am fost putin surprinsa dar or fi avut ei vreun motiv.

Cam atat deocamdata din orasul cu multe lacuri



I’ve been in Olsztyn for 2 days now and I’m ready to write my fisrt impressions, before I find out all the explanations and details. Actually, these rows were written in a mail for my parents the first day after I got here so they were very fresh.

I got here ok, after waiting for half an jour in the airport in Warsaw for our lugguage. Roxana’s baggage was lost but I managed to go and ask for it and finally we found it. The train for warsaw to Olsztyn had an accident somewhere on the way so it had one hour delay.

There were people waiting for us both in the airport and at the train station. The girl from Olsztyn came with her father by car to pick us up and they drove us to our flat.

All three of us (Andreea, Lia and me) live in a rented room in a big house with flower garden, in a beautiful neighbourhood. And guess what! The haouse it’s all pink on the outside! They also have some vegetables in the back yard.

The 2 girls from AIESEC welcomed us with some presents (@ strings and T-shirts) and some bread, paszta, sugar, tea and other things they thought we might need until we have the time to go shopping.

In the first morning we went to work. There was the organization’s president that was waiting for us with a warm smile: a nice lady in her 50’s, that doesn’t talk a very rich english but very opened and seems that kind of strong woman. The rest of the employees are young and they speak english well enough so they enjoyed very much to talk to us. They served us with coffee, tea, cookies, than took us to the little restaurant inside the bulding (my frist time eating sausages and potateos soup – interesting and tasty all together). They’ve also showed us the city while going to pay something in an bank office and the post office. When coming back to the office we asked for something to do in order to stop feeling useless around here. They told us is our first day so we have to stay calm, drink coffee and just chat with them.:))

The people at work and the ones from AIESEC are all very warm and always opened to help us. I can’t generalize though. In the train i looked for somebody to help us with some information and when I asked “Sorry! Do you speak English?”, they said a very short and cold “NO!” and just turned his/her head, making sure I don’t bother anymore. I was a bit shocked but I gues they would have had their reasons for that so I can’t blame them.

That’s it for now from the lakes city

A week before

I'm not a child anymore... Sometimes I wish I were!

I'm a young woman going to face another change in her life. I'll start to learn to walk again, on another ground, in the middle of another country, people and culture.

There have been a pretty long journey until the start of a new beginning. Like every journey, it came with smiles but also tears, with moments of excitement or despair. There's a long way until the end of the journey but I learnt to enjoy every single second of it.

I won't have my family, friends and dear people close to me, in terms of kilometers. I'll be alone but I'll always have my faith and trust. The strong belief that I can love and that dreams can come true will guide me.

It's just a week till I'll leave and the "before traineeship crisis" is trying to scare but it has less chances now than it might have had some years ago. It's the Cori you all know that will be leaving, it's the same Cori that will change in the end, it will be the same Cori coming back. A changed one but still me.

I use to say that's just me... dreaming and hoping, living and enjoying, feeling and caring... pink or blonde, it's just me! Wherever I go, I'm Just me!